Teach Yourself Gaelic Complete Course [Paperback]

Teach Yourself Publishing (Author), Boyd Robertson (Author), Iain Taylor (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0844238619 | ISBN-13: 978-0844238616 | Publication Date: January 11, 1995

Functional and fun, this course offers full pronunciation guides, grammar summaries, dialogues, cultural notes, vocabulary charts, and irregular verb tables. Ideal for complete language study from comprehension, to speaking and writing skills, to understanding the culture.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Boyd Robertson teaches Gaelic at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

Iain Taylor is an experienced teacher and scriptwriter.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies (January 11, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0844238619
• ISBN-13: 978-0844238616
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,872,369 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

108 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for those with no other way of instruction, November 11, 2001

By 

Christopher Crittenden "seanuilaoghais" (Bay St. Louis, Mississippi United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teach Yourself Gaelic Complete Course (Paperback)

I got this tape and book set about 2 1/2 years ago in 1999. I started on my own with absolutely no one else to practice with. In the summer of 2001 I went to Scotland to attend a short 2 week course in Scottish Gaelic at Sabhal Mor Ostaig on the Isle of Skye. They had 8 levels, one per week. After I had my interview they put me straight into level 5! Mind you, I had NO ONE else to speak with. The tapes REALLY help with the pronunciation, which is the hardest thing about this language in my opinion, b/c words are not spelled how they sound to an native English speaker. If you read through every part of the chapter and treat it just like a textbook, and if you do all of the exercises in the book in the proper way, you will have no choice but to learn this language as best as it is possible without a live teacher. If you want to get back in touch with your Scottish roots, or you just love the celts and want to feel cool by speaking a beautiful and ancient language, then this book and tape set is for you.

139 of 153 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not the best, September 14, 2000

By 

Gwilym - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teach Yourself Gaelic Complete Course (Paperback)

First, I would like to make one point absolutely clear: this book DOES NOT teach you Irish(-Gaelic), it teaches Scottish-Gaelic. I am a speaker of Irish myself, and I've met at least tens of beginners who have wanted to learn the Gaelic language of Ireland (Gaeilge, in Irish), and confused it with the Gaelic language of Scotland (Gaidhlig, in Scottish Gaelic). So, if you want to learn Irish, I would recommend "Learning Irish" by Micheal O Siadhail instead. If, however, Scottish Gaelic is the language you want to learn, this book is indeed quite good, provided you buy the book as well as the tapes (Gaelic pronunciation can be very confusing for beginners). This book is based largely on standard Gaelic, and contains conversations, word-lists and grammar explanations. The structure is quite clear and straight-forward, and should not present any major problems to the dedicated learner.

I would, however, want to point out the fact that a new Gaelic course will be available in a few months, Colloquail Gaelic. From what I've seen of that book, it is the best book on Gaelic available, and if you don't need to learn Gaelic immediately, I would advise you to wait. As someone with experience from language-corses in 23 languages, I have to say that the books in the Teach Yourself series normally belong to the worst books. This book is not so bad as most other in the TY-series, but I would advice you to wait for the "Colloquial Gaelic".

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tha e math!, July 31, 2000

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teach Yourself Gaelic Complete Course (Paperback)

This is one of the most useful Gaelic books I have used. Interesting lessons and activities are combined with cultural notes. The tapes are necessary for pronunciation. Like most books, it can only teach you to read and write. When used in conjunction with a conversation group or organized lessons, this book works very well.

To use along with "Gaelic : A Complete Course for Beginners," I recommend Morag MacNeill's "Everyday Gaelic" and "Dwelly's Gaelic/English dictionary." You'll soon be on your way with this wonderful language.